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With an aim to inculcate environmental stewardship in students by fostering a sense of responsibility, sustainability, and ecological awareness, Guwahati-based NGO Aaranyak has initiated a new vertical of an environmental education program named Prakriti Parichay.
The program aims to instill the concepts of environment, wildlife, and nature conservation, as well as environmental challenges and potential solutions, through joyful learning. The first version of the program was conducted at Help Aid Academy, Chandrapur, where 42 students from Kurkuria village took part. During the program, the cognitive ability of the students was assessed through fun-filled quizzes based on their attention during the presentation and discussion. This form of assessment encourages critical thinking and allows students to demonstrate their knowledge in creative ways. Aaranyak's environmental expert and educator, Tanvi Hussain, and Wasima Begum emphasized to the students that the way we safeguard our home, we should also secure wild habitats and natural resources. The students took part in an ecological game, Web of Life, curated for the program to understand the link between the different components of the environment and different organisms through the food web. Also, the pressure created on the ecological balance in the absence of one organism or species was demonstrated through the game. Aaranyak's Coordinator in the K9 Sniffer Dog Unit, Anil Das, briefed the students about the importance of different species in the ecosystem through the example of the services provided by the K9 Squad in wildlife conservation and surveillance. Aaranyak conducted the program in collaboration with Help Aid Academy, a remedial evening school that guides marginalized students of the tea garden communities in Kurkuria village after their usual school hours. The academy has adopted the village and is implementing the Pandit Hemchandra Goswami Literacy Mission with the aim of making Kurkuria village 100 per cent literate, as well as working on a community nursery program for capacity building. The academy collects plastic waste from the students in exchange for evening classes. During the program, the annual calendar of Aaranyak themed on Wetlands, designed by the Media Publication & Communication Division, was presented at the Academy. (ANI)
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